I spent a weekend in St. Louis, Missouri for a leadership retreat which included an afternoon of service work. Our volunteer efforts helped restore The Rock Church. We did some painting, dry walling and even built a wall. This church is located in a poor neighborhood and had deteriorated from years of neglect. Today the church serves as a home to several individuals who spend their days reaching out to and working with the people of East St. Louis. The newly restored church serves as a kind of headquarters for the mission society.
The pastor who heads up the organization is Pastor Randy. Meeting him has provided several opportunities for me. I was able to interview him for this class at the beginning of the semester and he has made a number of additional volunteer experiences available to me. During the interview, Pastor Randy expressed the ways they directly and indirectly benefited the community of East St. Louis and the neighborhood of The Rock. Since they moved into The Rock, the neighborhood has gone through a transformation and become safer and more respectable. He told us that when they first moved in there would be drug deals on the steps of the church, but now it is safe to walk around the neighborhood in the evening.
This was an amazing experience. I came away from the weekend with a much clearer understanding of the community of East St. Louis. We took an evening drive through a residential area accompanied by a very interesting commentary from Pastor Randy who knows many of the families who live there. I went into it looking for a fun weekend in St. Louis with a couple of friends, and it ended up being a weekend I will never forget for so many reasons.
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